A family name in Vancouver's city directories
The Searsons
In the city directories 1940 · three people at three addresses
The directories print three people named Searson at three addresses in 1940 in three of the city's neighbourhoods. No first name or initials tie one address to another: we can't tell if they're one family.
Reserve this family's book, freeThe name in every directory we hold from 1901 to 1945, at every address, each line with its page, to read here or save as a PDF. About $29 when orders open.
Where the Searsons lived
- 1
536 East 8th Avenue
Mount Pleasant, 1940
- William Sarson, a railway mail clerk at the Canadian Government 1940
Next door in 1940: V H Dougherty at 530 and W J Barclay at 544. The block, door by door
- 2
998 Thurlow Street
West End, 1940
- Mrs A Searson 1940
Next door in 1940: R P Barrett at 940. The block, door by door
- 3
3320 West 41st Avenue
Dunbar-Southlands, 1940
- Reginald F Searson, a clerk at Canadian Lig Air 1940
Next door in 1940: A L Taylor at 3370. The block, door by door
What they did
The name section prints a trade for two of the three: a clerk and a railway mail clerk.
Their neighbourhoods
The addresses are in Dunbar-Southlands, Mount Pleasant and West End. Each neighbourhood's page shows its trades, its people and every street in it, the way the directory printed them.
The story, address by address
The 1940 name section, where each person's work is printed, lists William Sarson at 536 East 8th Avenue, a railway mail clerk at the Canadian Government. Mrs A Searson is listed at 998 Thurlow Street in 1940. The 1940 name section lists Reginald F Searson at 3320 West 41st Avenue, a clerk at Canadian Lig Air.
Today
998 Thurlow and 3320 West 41st still have their buildings from before 1946; 536 East 8th (2020) has a newer building, by the City's record.
Every line as printed
All 3 lines printed under the name through 1945, each with its page at the Vancouver Public Library.
- Sarson Wm ry mail clk Can Govt536 East 8th, p. 543
- Searson Mrs A998 Thurlow, p. 156
- Searson Regd F clk Can Lig Air3320 West 41st, p. 550
British Columbia and Yukon Directory, name section, where each person's work is printed
The book of the Searsons
Every directory, as one book
The family book reads the Searson name in each Vancouver directory we hold from 1901 to 1945: everyone printed under it at every address, their work from the name sections, who lived next door, and the page behind every line, to read here or save as a PDF to print or give.
We're opening orders soon. Join the list to be first in line; we expect about $29 a family.
Another name, or a house
Sources
Henderson's and successor city directories for Vancouver, read by us line by line: the street sections for 1905, 1915, 1925, 1935, 1940 and 1945, and the name section for 1930 and 1940 where we've read it (Vancouver Public Library, BC City Directories). Names are shown through 1945, as printed. Close spellings are grouped, as on the house pages, since a family's name was often spelled differently from one year to the next; one name can still be several families, and we join lines only where the first names or initials agree. Many Chinese, Japanese and other residents weren't named by the canvassers, so they can't be listed by name: their houses' pages say where. More family names under S. Want a name removed? Tell us.